a ferry and Sanssouci

There is a small ferry in Potsdam, so I decided to cross that one off my list next. It was in a part of town I'd never been to and was near the end of the bus line. Two or three stops from the end 15 or 20 people got on the bus, which always makes me wonder "Should I get off here? Is there actually something here?" But I stayed on the bus and got off at my chosen stop, and a short distance away saw a path through a park, indicating that I was indeed heading in the right direction.

The ferry was arriving just as I did, but since it's only a three minute ride I waited for the next one and took some photos of the water and boats.

 I love all of the lily pads in every body of water here.

The little ferry! It runs every 15 minutes, which seems pretty regular considering I don't actually know what it's there for - is there something on either side that I'm missing?

Once I was across, I decided to walk to a side entrance of the gardens of Schloss Sanssouci. I last walked around a bit of the gardens two winters ago, so it seemed like time to see them in the summer.

 

I have half-wondered to myself if fields that look like this were hay, but that seemed random and out of place. That bale has pretty much confirmed my suspicions regarding all the fields at Babelsberg.

I rested on a bench in the shade in the middle of the park, on the main pathway between the two palaces. A lot of tourists visit the gardens, so it was fun for me to watch them all walk past and then catch a peripheral view of the Orangerie and stop to take photos. Many gasped in surprise because they didn't expect it to be there.

 The sides of most of the benches in the park looked like this.

 I have no idea what kind of tree this is, but I like it.

And, finally, Schloss Sanssouci. I arrived at about 5, when the park was still full of tourists who were wandering the gardens and climbing up to the Schloss.

I made plans for my boy to meet me in the park about an hour later, so I set out my blanket and read a book. I think this is the best view my blanket and I have ever had. It only lasted an hour, though, as a guard came and told me that sitting on the ground was forbidden. There were no signs, and there were others resting as well (it was yet another hot day), but I was the only one so prepared as to have a blanket.

I packed up and went back to the fountains. It was clearly after peak tourist time, so they turned the fountain off. There was never a moment without at least one person climbing those stairs.

 By the time we finally left the park, the sun was setting.

Fredrick the great was the Potato King, and he has not been forgotten. Unless the staff leave these...